The elusive climax.
Can you remember your
teenage years? Perhaps you are fortunate enough to still be young and the
memory is fresh, or perhaps you are still in the second decade of your life.
Whatever your circumstances we know that those years are times of upheaval and
excitement, great highs and depressing lows.
In my teenage years, living
far away from the large towns and cities, the “serious music” I encountered was
through vinyl or radio, and this was restricted mostly to Classical or Romantic
music. The joy of listening was enhanced when the orchestra played tutti, fff and
the musical motif shone out in complete clarity. When I was introduced to
musical analysis I understood this to be the musical climax of the work, the
term was added to my vocabulary and there is stayed as some sort of fixed
object for many years.
As I had time to read as
well as listen I came to enjoy reading plays and came to understand that drama
shared with music these moments of intense activity, there was a specific
design relating to the number of acts and the point at which a climax was to
occur. Gustav Freytag created a chart which became known as Freytag’s pyramid. Most
musicians will feel comfortable with the design and I would encourage readers
to explore the parallels with music. The basic design is as follows:
The “exposition” where
characters and their environment is revealed. This is followed by “inciting incident”,
where a single event triggers the start of the engagements and conflicts which
is defined as “rising action” on the pyramid. The climax follows, revealing the
moment of greatest tension in the play or novel. After this apex comes “falling
action”, often revealing the consequences of the engagement. The final parts
are the “resolution” where a solution is found and the “denouement” where the
author may leave the audience to contemplate the theme and potential outcomes
for the character.
Now let us consider the
elements of a musical climax as it might occur in the Classical and Romantic
music I listened to in my teenage years.
The climax is part of a
continuous process of intensification and the realisation or working out of the
potential in the musical figures presented in the exposition. It is designed to
result in an emotional highpoint (both in terms of the structure and for the
listener). Musicians consider the process as a three part strategy of
preparation, climax and the release of tension. Many composers are of the
opinion that the longer the preparation stage the greater the intensity of the
climax. If so the great works of the late Romantic period should have greater
points of intensity than a Classical symphony, a point which seems instinctively
correct.
On the matter of tension
building this has been covered in previous blogs under the title “Composers
Toolbox”. At the climax point itself one would expect the greatest intensity of
rhythmic movement, loudest dynamic, richest texture and usually an unambiguous
statement of the theme. The music may then rapidly diminish in intensity or make
a more gradual reduction. Again some musicians take the view that the longer
the release the greater the sense of peace and rest at the close. While this
scheme works for many works composers from the 20th century onwards
were willing to challenge the format, an example is the last movement of the
sixth symphony by R. V. Williams, which undoubtedly has a point of intensity
but is far removed from the design suggested above.
When considering the
musical climax in its usual definition it was suggested that it reveals the
emotional highpoint for both the planning of the music and the response from
the individual. There is a problem with the second part of this suggestion. In
the first place if there was a simple trigger for our emotional response to
music it would occur each time the music plays. For me, and I would suggest for
most listeners, this isn’t true. In my voyages through symphonic writing I came
to understand that the symphonies of Mahler had the potential to evoke powerful
emotional responses. All the planning is there for this type of engagement, yet
there were times when my anticipated response failed to arrive. Was this a
result of a weaker performance, lack of involvement with the music, poor
attention, distractions?
Listening to reviews of
record releases where the finest performance is suggested should help to find
the ideal choice for the best emotional response, particularly when played on
your new sound-reproducing equipment, but this is not guaranteed. Perhaps the
situation is better when attending a concert, a good listening position is
taken, the hall is excellent, and thankfully the audience in good health. One
could add to that the anticipation and the sharing of the experience which we
know through the blog on laughter has a profound effect on our response. Experienced
listeners know that this should make a difference but the emotional response
can still be elusive.
Even more problematic for
the definition of the climax is the ‘failure’ of the individual to respond to
the composed climax point, and the discovery that the moment of frisson may
occur at points of lesser stimulation, perhaps the introduction of a particular
texture, an unexpected event, change of harmony, an unexpected variant on a
melodic shape, the possibilities are numerous. Cassius’s famous quotation comes
to mind:
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves
The frisson we sometimes
experience is sometimes found in music that doesn’t follow the accepted scheme
applied to Classical and Romantic music. There are shortcuts to exciting the
listener which may be applied in a three minute popular song; unexpected
harmonies, sudden changes of dynamic, discordant notes against the melody, innovative
textures from unconventional instruments or sampled sounds. The power of
association with text or image is perhaps the most powerful tool, though the
question of how well the effect is retained with repeated listening has to be
asked.
There are many subtle ways
of reaching a point of intensity in music without assailing the listener. Much
of the serious music today appeals to the intellect but composers retain an
element of showmanship, and enjoy keeping their audience on the edge of their
seats. In featuring music of different nationalities on G+ pages it is easy to hear
that the Japanese have retained the inclusion of emotional cues in their music
over and above many other Western composers. Some works, e.g. those presenting
changes of texture as the main composing intention, can be fascinating to hear,
but engage us on a primarily intellectual level. This may be part of a gradual
evolution, such as we have heard in e.g. the music of Philip Glass, compare
Music with Changing Parts to the 9th Symphony.
This blog has been a
general introduction to the matter of emotional response and requires examples
of the alterations to methods of creating a climax in the modern age. This
matter will be considered in the new year, until then please accept my wishes
for a pleasant and hopefully not too exciting Christmas and New Year.
